Floor rack stringer



v. E. slssoN 2,139,043/

FLOOR RACK STRINGER Filed Dec. 1, 193e 2 sheets-sheet 2 Patented Dec. 6,1938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE mesne assignments, to

Standard Railway Equipment Manufacturing Company, a corporation ofDelaware Application December 1, 1936, Serial No. 113,678

3 Claims.

'Ihe invention relates to insulated refrigerator cars used to transportperishable commodities, such as vegetables, fruits, berries, meats,eggs, frozen fish, etc., and to maintain such commodities while intransit within a predetermined range of temperature, thus necessitatingthe use of a cooling means in the summer and a heating means in thewinter. It has been found that perishable commodities which have notbeen a1- lowed to get too cold (freeze) or too hot (bake) have a highermarket value because they have a longer storage life.

The invention relates specifically to floor racks for such refrigeratorcars which comprise a foraminous or perforated floor, arranged tosupport the lading in the car in spaced relation to the insulated floorof the car so that air, after it has been cooled by a refrigerant, orheated by a heater, may pass under the lading and through the foraminousfloor and up through or between the lading.

Spaced apart wooden slats supported by wooden stringers have been usedfor this purpose, but such construction is objectionable because itbecomes insanitary, retains odors, becomes water sogged and heavy, andis expensive to maintain.

An object of the inventio-n is to provide a licor rack co-mprising aforaminous oor supported by stringers which is very light in weight forits strength; has a large total area of apertures in the foraminousfloor for the passage of circulating air; offers the minimum resistanceto the air moving in a horizontal direction under the foraminous floor;is economical to make and install or remove from the car; is cheap tomaintain; is sanitary and will provide a substantially smooth surfacefor walking upon land rolling trucks thereupon.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 shows a typical unit of my improved oor rack.

Fig. 2 is a plan View of the floor rack Stringer.

Fig. 3 is an elevation of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 shows a modified construction.

Fig. 5 shows a fragmentary longitudinal section through a refrigeratorcar provided with my floor rack.

Fig. 6 shows a cross section through Fig. 7.

Figs. 5 and 6 show a refrigerator car provided with the usual bulkhead Aseparating the refrigerant chamber B from the lading compartment C. Thebulkhead is provided with openings D and E adjacent the ceiling andfloor of the car with a solid wall F therebetween.

A refrigerant is supported by the grates J in the refrigerant chamber Bin spaced relation to the floor of the car and the basket (or netting) Kspaces the refrigerant from the end wall L and bulkhead A to provide theiiues M. 'Ihe aper- 5 tured floor rack N supports the lading O so as toprovide the space P which communicates with the flues M. A refrigerant,such as ice, induces a convection air current from the flues M, throughthe space P and the apertures in the l0 floor rack N, and as the air iswarmed by the lading O it rises and passes through the bulkhead upperopening D and thence through the flues M, and being cooled by therefrigerant, repleats the convection cycle. 15

The oor rack comprises a foraminous floor 2, such as spaced apart woodenor steel slats, expanded metal, wire netting or a mattress such as usedto reinforce concrete. This foraminous floor is supported by a pluralityof stringers 3 in spaced relation to the main floor of the car.

Each Stringer comprises a metallic strap formed into an open rectangularstructure so that air may circulate in all directions below theforaminous door 2 and rise up through the foraminous floor to cool thelading when the car is under refrigeration or to Warm the lading whenthe car is under heat.

The lower (il) and side (4) portions of the strap forming the Stringerare formed with a 3o continuous corrugation 6 to strengthen it so that alight weight strap may be used. The columns l extend between the upper(8) and lower (3) portions of the rectangular structure and preferablystraddle the corrugation to hold it in place, and if desired, thecolumns may be lightly welded or otherwise secured to the strap. Iprefer to leave the upper portion 8 of the structure flat to provide abearing surface for the foraminous floor, but it may be desirable toextend the corrugation entirely around the four sides of the rectangularstructure (as shown in Fig. 4) which may be desirable in certain kindsof foraminous floors.

The columns l are preferably made of a flat steel plate diagonallydisposed relative to the longitudinal axis of the Stringer to preventthe Stringer from collapsing like a parallelogram. If more than onecolumn is used they are preferably positioned so as not to be parallelwith each 50 other, such as shown in 'l and I0. Such columns offer verylittle resistance to the movement of circulating air.

The accompanying drawings illustrate the preferred form of theinvention, though it is to 55 be understood that the invention is notlimited to the exact details of construction shown and described, as itis obvious that various modications, thereof, within the scope of theclaims, will occur to persons skilled in the art.

I claim:

l. In a refrigerator car having a wall with a ilue adjacent thereto, afloor rack for supporting the car lading so as to provide a spacebetween the lading and the floor of the car communicating with saidflue, and means to induce an air current through said flue and saidspace, said iloor rack comprising spaced apart stringers supporting aforaminous. floor, each of said stringers comprising a metallic strapformed into an open rectangular structure so that air may circulate inall directions below the foraminous floor, the lower and side portionsof said structure being formed with a continuous corrugation, and spacedapart columns extending between the upper and lower portions of thestructure which columns straddle the corrugation, each of said columnscomprising a ilat plate diagonally disposed relative tothe longitudinalaxis of the Stringer to prevent the Stringer from collapsing like aparallelogram.

2. In a refrigerator car having a wall with a flue adjacent thereto, ai'loor rack for supporting the car lading so as toI provide a spacebetween the lading and the floor of the car communicating with said ue,and means to induce an air current through said flue and said space,said floor rack comprising spaced apart stringers supportinga'forarninous floor, each oi said stringers comprising a metallic strapformed into an open rectangular structure so that air may circulate inall directions below the foraminous floor, and spaced apart columnsextending between the upper and lower portions of the structure, each ofsaid columns comprising a iiat plate diagonally disposed relative to thelongitudinal axis of the Stringer.

3. In a refrigerator car having a Wall with a ue adjacent thereto, afloor rack for supporting the car lading so as to provide a spacebetween the lading and the floor of the car communicating with saidflue, and means to induce an air current through said flue and saidspace, said iloor rack comprising spaced apart stringers supporting aioraminous floor, each of said stringers comprising a metallic strapformed into an open rectangular structure so that air may circulate inall directions below the foraminous floor, said strap being formed witha continuous corrugation, and spaced apart columns extending between theupper and lower portions of the structure which columns straddle thecorrugation, each of said columns comprising a flat plate diagonallydisposed relative to the longitudinal axis of the Stringer to preventthe Stringer from collapsing like a parallelogram.

VINTON E. SISSON.

